A Dream Never Lasts
by Addison.White
Summary: When Massie was sent away to Boarding School, she thought it was the end of the world. But she quickly adapted and took over her newest school. However, now in her senior year, Massie must return home and face what she left behind.
1. Red Carpet Reality

7:02. Massie Block sighed as she snuck a glance at her antique clock sitting on her night table. She was running late, beyond late actually. Pierre's back to school cocktail party would be starting in half an hour, meaning that the red carpet portion of the evening was currently in action.

Massie Block always made an entrance on the red carpet, especially at any of Pierre's gatherings, and always in the most exquisite of outfits; something that always got the paparazzi talking. And when it came to Massie Block- they were always talking.

She was one of Paris' most coveted socialites; lucky enough to have fallen into all the right crowds at her International Boarding School just twenty minutes outside of the city. She was constantly taking weekend trips to different cities around Europe, and no matter where she went, there was someone there to photograph her and her every move.

Massie looked in the mirror, sighing again. She knew she looked amazing in her black strapless Yves Saint Laurent poplin dress that had amazing detail in the front and looked even better with the black caged belt she had put at her waist.

Her hair was in a low chignon with dark brown tendrils falling out and framing her face. Her gorgeous amber eyes were done professionally with a light smokey look and long lashes.

But the most jaw dropping part of her outfit was her accessories- because if anyone knew how to accessorize, it was Massie Block. She had python Christian Louboutin pumps that matched her snakeskin Carlos Falchi clutch.

Dangling around her neck was a gold David Yurman chain, and hanging loosely from her wrist was her gold and diamond charm bracelet from Roberto Coin. The bracelet had been a gift from her boyfriend Charles, as well as her Gucci chandalier earrings . The only regular thing on Massie was her gold MB initial ring that had diamonds in between the M and the B. She had one in both yellow and white gold, so that it would always match and she could wear it constantly.

Looking in the mirror, Massie knew she was a perfect ten, that not even adding gloss could make her more perfect- but yet, despite all that, she had a nervous apprehension feeling in her stomach.

"Massie, are you ready yet?" Boomed her best friend Gray Watson, who bolted into their room. Massie turned to face her friend and nodded.

"Good, now rate me." Gray said, smiling widely. Massie looked her friend up and down and smiled in return. Gray's long and natural black waves were straightened, her bangs pulled up into a little poof on her head.

Gray had on a Jay Godfrey strapless fringe dress with champagne metallic Jimmy Choo slingbacks that matched her vintage champagne coloured jewelry that she had inherited. With it she had a Dior champagne coloured clutch that Massie suspected was last season's.

"You're definitely a 9.8. Sorry ma cherie, but you lost marks on the year old bag." Massie said, now picking up her own clutch and making her way to the door. Gray nodded and smiled. She could settle for a 9.8.

"Where is Edie?" Massie asked, now referring to their other best friend. Edie was their gorgeous British bombshell friend who they had met the year before. Edie had been in a few British flicks but after getting carried away in the London nightclubs, her parents sent her to the Paris International Boarding School for students from all different countries.

Gray's story was a little different though. Her big shot American father had a love affair with a very unknown and poor French girl, who was her mom, from Marseilles. When her mom got pregnant with Gray, her dad's parents forced him to leave her mom if he wanted to keep his trust fund. So back to New York City he went, and he left Gray and her mom behind.

However much to Gray's luck and dismay at the same time, her mom passed away when she was eight. Gray was instantly brought to live in New York with her father, where she was raised until she was eleven. Then she was sent back to France, to the prestigious boarding school in Paris.

When Massie left Westchester County after ninth grade and transferred to the elite boarding school, she was heartbroken and intimidated. When she first walked into her dorm room, it was full of her roommate's designer clothes, but there was no one there to welcome her. Then when she went to the dining hall for the first time, she saw a gorgeous girl with long black hair surrounded by boys and dressed in complete designer.

But instead of looking at the adorable boys flirting with the girl, or the Chanel bag that the girl was holding onto, Massie studied the girl. Her end impression was that this girl would no doubt be her best friend despite her inability to dress herself. Yes the girl was wearing designer, but Massie had never seen someone shame Marc Jacobs as badly as the girl had.

Massie, being the instant Alpha that she was, walked right up to the girl, tapped her on the shoulder and said, "I'm Massie Block. I luh-ve your purse, but never wear black Chanel with a brown and gray Marc by Marc Jacobs print top. Friendly tip from me to you."

The girl had simply looked at Massie and smiled. Then she said, "And never make the word love into two syllables."

Massie was initially taken off guard and she stomped away back to her room, only to later find out that that very same girl was her roommate. And before either of them could do anything about it- the two were best friends, correcting each other and making themselves better and more profound people.

Since then they had been thick as thieves, and when one day in junior year a girl with long blonde hair showed up with a thick British accent, telling them that she was their third roommate, they added their newest best friend to their group.

"Edie is already in the limo wearing a god awful Pucci number. I tried to change her mind but that girl can be so stubborn." Gray said, snapping Massie back to reality.

"Oh god." Was all Massie said, before flicking the light switch and shutting the door behind her. She then followed Gray out to the limo where some of their friends were all waiting. Though Massie knew she should be excited, something didn't feel right.

"Massie! Over here!"

"Look this way Massie!" Screamed the paparazzi as Massie stepped out of the black limo. In front of her, she could see her two best friends Edie and Gray walking the red carpet, and now it was her turn.

"Massie, where is Charles this evening?"

"Did you two break up?"

"Why'd you dump him?"

"Who is he cheating with?"

Massie sighed and waved and she continued to walk. Of course they would bombard her with questions about her boyfriend Charles. Charles le Fray was another New York blue blood who was constantly labeled as a man whore. But little did the Paparazzi know, he was the best boyfriend Massie could ever imagine.

He asked her out over Christmas in Junior year and they had been dating ever since. They couldn't go anywhere without someone recognizing them and snapping photos for their blogs. But as much as everyone liked to say that they fought constantly and were "on and off", Massie knew better.

Charles was attentive and treated Massie as if she were a doll. She couldn't imagine loving anyone as much as she loved him. And with that thought in mind, as Massie continued to walk the red carpet, she had a wave of nausea.

Something was going to go wrong. She could just tell. Though she didn't know what, she had had this feeling before, one time too many in fact. She had felt it right before her and Derrick broke up for the second time at the end of freshman year and when her parents had announced that they were sending her away, she could recall the same feelings of anxiousness.

"Massie, you good?" Edie asked as she waited for her best friend at the entrance. Massie nodded back but on the inside she knew that something wasn't.


	2. That Feeling Never Goes Away

"So then the woman says, 'I'm going to eat you,' I swear to god. We were dying so hard." Said Vince as he told the group in the back of the party about the guys experience earlier that day.

"Vat is so funny." Said Hans, one of the newer German students who really only hung out with them because of his enticing blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair.

"We have that beat," said James as he nodded towards Charles who had his arm wrapped around Massie. "We were out yesterday and some guy said he'd pay us to model. We think why not, so we go. But as he's telling us about the shoot- he tells us it's gay porn shoot. I swear I've never seen Charles run so fast."

"You never told me that," Massie said teasingly and seductively into Charles ear. He leaned in and kissed her, while a loud chorus of 'whoops' erupted from around them.

"Let's go dance!" Gray yelled suddenly, jumping out of James lap. She grabbed both Edie's and Massie's hands and ran to the dance floor. All three laughed as some song they hardly recognized began to play. It had a beat, and really, what more did they need?

Massie could feel Charles come up behind her and slide his hands around her waist, pulling her to him. Though at first their dancing started off fairly PG, as the music grew louder, their dancing grew more intimate.

How could she possibly think something would go wrong tonight? There Massie was, dancing with her boyfriend, swaying her hips against his, loving every moment. Her best friends were around her dancing with their crushes, laughing as if it were breathing.

"I love you, Massie Block." Charles whispered into her ear. Massie stopped moving immediately. Even though they had basically told each other that they loved on another, they had never quite said it.

"I love you too!" Massie said, now turning around. She stared into his eyes and felt happiness sweep her up. She then leaned in and kissed him ever so passionately. And as they started kissing and moving to the beat of the music, Massie blocked out the last time she had said those three important words.

"Massie, you're vibrating." Charles said seductively. Massie smirked but then quickly realized that her cell phone that she had strapped to her upper thigh was indeed vibrating.

"One second, just let me get this." She said, pulling away. She looked at the caller ID and say long distance. Massie sighed and flipped open her phone.

"Hello?" Massie asked.

"Massie, honey. Hi." Said a choked voice on the other end. It took Massie only two seconds to recognize her mom's tone. This was what she had been so worried about. Whatever her mom was going to say in this call, that is what was going to be wrong.

"What's going on, mom?" Massie asked quickly, now stepping away from her laughing friends and waiting boyfriend.

"It's…oh I wouldn't call if I didn't think I had to. It's dad… he's in the hospital." Kendra Block let out in a sob. Massie felt her stomach drop to the ultimate low.

"Dad?"

"He's been sick for a while but we thought he was fighting it. But he got very sick at work today and was rushed to the hospital."

"What does he have?" Massie asked, her voice now hard and cold.

"I'm really sorry Mass, we didn't want to tell you until it was crucial. Your dad insisted you stay at school and be happy, but…"

"What does he have?" Massie asked louder and harsher.

"Cancer. He has colon cancer."

"I'll be on the next flight home." Massie said, without really thinking about it.

"Thank you Massie."

And with that Massie hung up her cell and stared into space, completely and utterly in shock.


	3. Memories Don't Fade Away

"Massie…are you okay?" Charles asked, staring at his girlfriend. Massie could barely move. She stood there replaying the conversation she had just had with her mother over and over again in her head. Her dad had…she bit her tongue as she thought the word Cancer.

"Mass?" Asked Gray, now noticing the stiffness in her best friend. Massie looked at both her friend and boyfriend's pleading eyes and before she could even say a word, a sob escaped her lips.

"It was my mom. I have to leave. Tomorrow. Back home." Massie said incoherently. She was spitting words out.

"Go back? What do you mean go back?" Gray asked shocked and appalled. They had made a rule that they never go back.

"It's my dad. Hospital. Cancer." She said, now shaking. She walked back to the sofas that they had occupied before and grabbed her clutch. She had to leave, had to get out. More than that, she had to book a flight back home. To do lists started running through her head but before Massie could get a hold of herself, she felt Charles take her hand and lead her to the door.

"We'll go back to your room. I'll call Claude tonight and ask him to get the jet ready for early tomorrow morning." Charles said as he wrapped his arms around her and led her to his own limo.

She got in, shaking, and instantly felt better as Charles pulled her in close.

"No. I want to fly commercial. I'll book a ticket when I get back." Massie said stiffly, still shaking.

"We'll fly first class." Charles said sweetly but Massie only shook her head.

"You don't understand Charles, I'm not going for the weekend. I could be there a week, two weeks, maybe even longer." Massie said, now realizing the truth behind her words. She'd stay till she felt right leaving again. "And I think I have to go alone."

"Massie, are you sure? I want to be there for you." Charles said, looking at her. Massie nodded though she wasn't really sure if she was making the right choice.

"I need to do this alone. At least for now. I'd love for you to be there, but I need to be with my dad right now. Maybe though, when he starts looking better, you can come down for a few days. You've never seen my home."

"Of course Mass. I just hope for everyone's sake that you won't have to be there too long." Massie looked up at him and he smiled weakly. "But if you need to be there even for a year, then I will commute and make sure I see you. Like I said, I love you Massie."

Massie felt a tear trickle down her cheek and she muttered back, "I love you too." She then leaned back against Charles and allowed the tears to fall, all the way back to the dorms.

When she got back, Charles kissed her goodnight and made her promise to call the second she landed. Massie nodded and then hurried up to her room where she immediately hopped on the phone with Air France. Before she knew it, she was packing up her Louis Vuitton trunks for a trip that would definitely take longer than a week.

When Gray and Edie stormed in, worry etched into their faces, Massie simply explained the situation and told them, though she had neglected to tell it to Charles, that she'd be staying for a while. Probably for a month, to either make sure her dad's health returned, or to say her goodbyes. Gray and Edie both hugged her, but neither knew what to say. Their notorious and fearless Alpha was leaving, and even though she promised she'd back soon (she could never miss her senior year), she'd be gone for a while.

- - - -

Massie couldn't help but feel like a mess, even though she knew she still looked great. Wrapped in her gray vintage moth eaten cardigan with a white chiffon Rebecca Taylor tank underneath and dark wash skinny Sevens tucked into brown Burberry riding boots, Massie looked poised and put together.

But she definitely didn't feel poised and put together. She was sitting in her first class seat waiting for the plane to take off to Westchester County, contemplating what had to be done. First, she'd go to the hospital to see her dad. Then she'd go back home and attempt to feel somewhat comfortable in her old bedroom. And lastly, she'd call Claire and Dylan, the only two she had left on good terms with.

Oh Claire and Dylan. Massie leaned back further in her seat and shut her eyes, beginning to remember all the fun they had had back while she was still living in Westchester. But those times were gone, and things had no doubt changed.

When Massie had left, everything had been a mess- a very big mess that she had promised herself she'd never revisit. That meant no returning, no contact, and no thinking about it. Because the last time Massie had seen everyone, she had had her heart broken.

Back in their first year of high school, and Massie's final year in Westchester, Massie had been the alpha of freshman year. Her and her clique of friends had been the most popular, along with their male counterparts.

Alicia had still been dating Josh, and they had slightly started to move beyond 'lip kissing'. As far as Massie knew, they were still dating… but maybe not. Then there was Claire and Cam, the golden couple who had the rare occasional spat but nothing ever serious enough to affect their relationship.

Kristen and Dempsey hadn't made it much past eighth grade, and as freshman year rolled by, not only did Kristen try to find a new guy to date, but she found new friends as well. Massie had pretended at the time like it wasn't a blow to her self-esteem, but if Kristen could leave… any of them could.

Then there was Dylan. Dylan had always been a close and loyal friend, excluding when she had stolen Derrick, and when Dylan and Chris Plovert reunited at the end of eighth grade, Massie couldn't have been happier for her.

And what really made her freshman year special was that the summer before, the summer after they graduated, Derrick Harrington had asked her to get back together. And they had. They had been dating their whole freshman year in complete and utter bliss.

And then, two weeks into the summer after freshman year, on their one year anniversary, Massie said those haunted words 'I love you,' only to be met by silence. Derrick had just looked at her and said, 'oh.'

Embarrassed and hurt, Massie had ended things right there, making it the last conversation she had had with Derrick before she left for Paris. Of course she had seen him around with their group of friends, and of course she had watched him make out with Kristen at some lame attempt of a party thrown by some twit named Haley Thort.

Massie remembered watching him kiss Kristen. It still killed her. The first guy she had ever loved had never felt the same, and as a way of moving on, he went to the bitch who had left her. Massie also remembered right after they kissed, they made eye contact. He stared at her with his big brown puppy dog eyes, and then he started to come over, hopefully to apologize. But Massie was hurt, and stupidly, she smirked at him, grabbed Chris Abeley, and planted her lips right on his. When she pulled away, all she saw was Derrick's back.

That had been the last time she had seen him. Massie came home that night crying, again, and when she walked through the door, she was met with concerned parents who thought that maybe she was outgrowing Westchester.

Originally Massie had protested, she could not imagine being at some hoity-toity boarding school in Paris, but when she went to go tell Alicia, Alicia claimed that she couldn't listen because she was busy with Kristen, Josh, and Derrick.

Massie had made up her mind right there. Who needed lame unloyal friends, a boyfriend who didn't love her, and some bitch trying to steal the love of your life? Not Massie. She was born alpha, and therefore, why stay in Westchester when she could undoubtedly rule Paris? So without goodbyes to anyone but Claire, Dylan, and Cam, Massie hopped on a plane and left for school.

"We are now ready for takeoff," Said the pilot over the plane's announcement system. Massie instantly snapped back to reality and sighed. Going back to Westchester meant revisiting what she had sworn to forget. All she could tell herself was good luck.


End file.
